A Christmas Carol

Plot

An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.

Release Year: 2009

Rating: 6.8/10 (28,145 voted)

Critic's Score: 55/100

Director:
Robert Zemeckis

Stars: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth

Storyline
Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.

Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Charles Dickens

Cast:

Jim Carrey
–

Scrooge
/
Ghost of Christmas Past
/
Scrooge as a Young Boy
/
Scrooge as a Teenage Boy
/
Scrooge as a Young Man
/
Scrooge as a Middle-Aged Man
/
Ghost of Christmas Present
/
Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Steve Valentine
–

Funerary Undertaker
/
Topper

Daryl Sabara
–

Undertaker's Apprentice
/
Tattered Caroler
/
Beggar Boy
/
Peter Cratchit
/
Well-Dressed Caroler

Sage Ryan
–

Tattered Caroler

Amber Gainey Meade
–

Tattered Caroler
/
Well-Dressed Caroler

Ryan Ochoa
–

Tattered Caroler
/
Beggar Boy
/
Young Cratchit Boy
/
Ignorance Boy
/
Young Boy with Sleigh

Bobbi Page
–

Tattered Caroler
/
Well-Dressed Caroler

Ron Bottitta
–

Tattered Caroler
/
Well-Dressed Caroler

Sammi Hanratty
–

Beggar Boy
/
Young Cratchit Girl
/
Want Girl

Julian Holloway
–

Fat Cook
/
Portly Gentleman #2
/
Business Man #3

Gary Oldman
–

Bob Cratchit
/
Marley
/
Tiny Tim

Colin Firth
–

Fred

Cary Elwes
–

Portly Gentleman #1
/
Dick Wilkins
/
Mad Fiddler
/
Guest #2
/
Business Man #1

Robin Wright
–

Fan
/
Belle

(as Robin Wright Penn)

Bob Hoskins
–

Fezziwig
/
Old Joe

Taglines:
Ready for Christmas? Neither is Scrooge. But it only takes one night to change your life.

Details

Official Website:
Disney [United States] |
Official site [France] |

Release Date: 6 November 2009

Box Office Details

Budget: $200,000,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $30,051,075
(USA)
(8 November 2009)
(3683 Screens)

Gross: $137,850,096
(USA)
(31 January 2010)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

Jim Carrey, who plays the gnarled, elderly Scrooge, is 16 months younger than Colin Firth, who plays the young, strapping Fred.

Goofs:

Anachronisms:
Scenes showing London from the air incorporate numerous anachronistic features, including the Millennium Footbridge (opened 2000), the reconstructed Globe Theatre (opened 1997) and Southwark Bridge (opened 1921).

Quotes:

[first lines]

Ebenezer Scrooge:
[upon viewing Marley in casket]
Yes, quite dead. As a doornail.

User Review

Do some basic research parents

Rating: 8/10


I read that this film has been labeled by parents as a "Disney Bomb"
because it's too scary for their young children. Parents who take kids
to see any movie need to be aware of something: if it's rated PG there
are likely going to be scenes that your six year old will not enjoy —
even if the name Disney is attached to it. The cutesy versions of A
Christmas Carol (The Muppet Christmas Carol and Disney's own Mickey's
Christmas Carol for example) have little in common with the classic,
and sometimes very scary Charles Dickens story. The plot should be
familiar to just about anyone who has been alive sometime during the
past 150 years, and the fact that there are spirits (ghosts) in the
story should also be a red flag to parents. Especially since two of
them are downright frightening in just about any version of the story.

The truth is that this is one of the most beautiful and faithful
remakes of the Dickens classic. The dialogue is taken nearly
word-for-word from the book, and the look and feel of the film
brilliantly capture what you would imagine wintertime in London in the
19th century to be like. A few of the special effects are a bit
over-the-top, but most work well and add enough pizazz for cynical
modern-day audiences. The scenes featuring the Ghost of Christmas
Present are worth the price of admission alone.

Once every few months I'm dragged kicking and screaming to see a new
film. I can't stand wasting my hard-earned dollar on the crap Hollywood
throws at us these days, but every once in a while I'm pleasantly
surprised and thoroughly enjoy a movie. This was definitely one of
those rare times.